


Arcadia

by NaughtyNeganJDM



Series: The Guest [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Negan (Walking Dead), Bottom Negan (Walking Dead), F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Inspired by The Walking Dead, M/M, Multi, Negan Being Negan (Walking Dead), Smut, Threesome, Threesome - F/M/M, Top Negan (Walking Dead), Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:27:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaughtyNeganJDM/pseuds/NaughtyNeganJDM
Summary: After Negan was exiled from Alexandria and left to fend for himself, he was rescued by Joel & Y/N when the remaining Whisperers attempted to kill Negan. After discovering he has a son, Negan decides to live in the town of Arcadia with his newfound family. Living in a new town and trying to fit in while also spending time with his family is harder than he ever imagined.
Relationships: Negan (Walking Dead)/Original Character(s), Negan (Walking Dead)/Original Female Character(s), Negan (Walking Dead)/Original Male Character(s), Negan (Walking Dead)/You
Series: The Guest [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172756
Comments: 12
Kudos: 24





	Arcadia

**Author's Note:**

> After finishing The Guest, I realized that truthfully I loved these characters too much to really end the story. So after thinking long and hard about it, I decided that I was going to continue on with one of the endings that I wrote. I understand this MAY NOT have been the ending you picked and that's perfectly okay. If you don't want to continue on and like where the story ended, that's okay. This story follows the "Y/N with Negan & Joel" ending. You can find the link to that [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20333263/chapters/71031642)
> 
> This story will focus on the relationship of three people that are in love with each other while attempting to raise a family together. Yes, Negan is bisexual and yes they are a throuple that loves each other. I'm not going to warn people before every chapter that Negan loves another man all the time while also stating Negan loves a woman too. So I'm just letting people know that here. 
> 
> Reminder, Y/N means YOUR NAME or you can insert any name you really want. Up to you!

A soft ticking sound echoed throughout the small room that Negan now called his own and it pulled him from his sleep. It had been three weeks since he was brought to Joel and Y/N’s town. Each day had been absolutely incredible since. Getting to spend time with his family felt like a fairytale in itself. There were so many years that Negan missed out on and he was eagerly trying to catch up in such a short amount of time, but it was worth it.

Attempting to move, Negan felt the weight of something keeping him in place and his eyes gradually fluttered to an open to see that Nolan was lying in bed with him. After Negan moved in with Y/N and her family, Nolan was desperate to be close to Negan. It was nice having someone by his side at all times and Negan was in awe of his son. For so long Negan had been alone and to be able to have something like this with Nolan almost felt surreal. Life had blessed Negan with a son and he wanted to enjoy the benefit of every single moment he could.

Reaching his hand out, Negan brushed his fingers into his son’s hair to press the hair out of Nolan’s face. It was amazing to be able to say that he had a son. For so long Negan just assumed that he was sterile and that killed him. The thought that he would never be able to leave a piece of himself behind in the world always bothered Negan. In the past he had attempted to have children with Lucille, so after a while he just began to assume that he wasn’t capable of having children. That hurt. More than anything Negan wanted children, so to be able to hold his son in his arms felt better than anything he had ever experienced in his life. It was shocking when Negan found out that Y/N had been pregnant with his child, but he thought it was a miracle and he couldn’t have been happier.

When Negan thought about Nolan the first word that came to mind was perfect. Nolan was an amazing boy. He was witty, he was smart and he had a good sense of humor. Spending time with the boy made Negan realize that Nolan also had a similar snarky side to him like Negan did. Joel had already teased Negan several times about it. Nolan was full of zingers and Joel would often blame Negan’s genes for that. Truthfully, Joel wasn’t wrong. Joel and Y/N did a great job raising this boy and they probably did a better job than Negan could have ever done, but biologically Nolan was Negan’s son. So, it would make sense that Nolan would be a bit of a smart ass.

Looking at Nolan made Negan think of his past as a young boy. It was strange how much Nolan truly looked like him, especially when Negan was a child. There was no doubt in his mind that this boy was his and it deep down made him so proud.

Negan’s eyes fell to the stuffed animal that was in Nolan’s arms and it made him let out a long exhale. It surprised the hell out of him when he had seen it for the first time. The old, worn out stuffed animal was the first thing that Negan had ever gotten Y/N. When they first started fooling around, he had bought her a stuffed animal at a baseball game and he had been shocked when he saw it in Nolan’s arms for the first time. Truthfully, seeing that stuffed animal made Negan immediately tear up the first time. Nolan didn’t quite understand it, but to know that Y/N kept that after so long and had given it to Nolan really touched him. It proved to Negan what they had said was true. They had done everything they could to still include Negan in their family’s life even though they thought he was gone. So even though Negan wasn’t with Nolan, there was always a part of him there with his son and Negan cherished that idea and thought.

Hearing movement in the hallways, Negan knew that today was supposed to be his first day on one of the jobs that Joel was hooking him up with, but he wasn’t ready to move. He loved cherishing the warmth of his son in his arms and he just wanted to have Nolan with him. If only for a little while longer. Attempting to close his eyes, Negan cuddled his head in closer to Nolan. When the door pushed open to his bedroom, Negan feigned sleeping knowing that he wanted to get some more time with his boy.

“Boys,” Y/N’s voice filled the air and Negan stayed frozen trying not to make a movement to draw to attention that he was awake. When neither Nolan nor Negan made any movements, Y/N chuckled to herself and stepped into the room. She closed the door behind her and moved over to sit on the edge of the bed near her son. “Boys…it’s time to wake up.”

“Not now mom,” Nolan groaned, burying his head in Negan’s chest to be closer to his father. “Just give us a few more minutes.”

“Yeah mom, just give us a few more minutes,” Negan repeated with a snicker, resting his chin over Nolan’s head while they laid together. “Please.”

“While I would love to do that…someone has school today and someone else has work,” Y/N reached out to press her hand in over Nolan’s shoulder to give it a small squeeze. “Come on baby, you know you can’t be late for class.”

“Can’t I just miss and go to work with dad?” Nolan turned in Negan’s arms and Negan loosely kept his arms around the boy. The look that Y/N gave Negan when Negan said nothing in response to what Nolan asked made Negan’s eyes get wide. “He’ll probably need my help since it’s the first day and all.”

“Your dad is going to be just fine at work,” Y/N insisted, giving Negan a glance to have him back her up. “Your other father has already been up cooking breakfast for all of us and it will be done soon. So, you don’t want to waste that, do you?”

“I mean breakfast does sound good, doesn’t it?” Negan tried to tempt his son into getting up and Nolan groaned outwardly clearly not wanting to move. Honestly, Negan didn’t want to get up either, but with the glare he got from Y/N, he knew that he needed to step into dad duty. “How about this…mom, you lay with us for a minute and then we’ll get up?”

“Negan?” Y/N tilted her head to the side, giving him somewhat of a frown and Negan made a dramatic expression in response.

“Come on mom,” Nolan reached his arms out for Y/N and she let out a frustrated breath before lowering down in the bed with them. “Awesome.”

“Good job mom,” Negan reached his right hand out to grab a hold of her hand and when she accepted it in his, Negan squeezed it firmly. Nolan placed his hand over theirs and it was the first time the three of them had something like this together. “See, this is nice.”

“It is,” Y/N grinned looking between them to see Nolan getting comfortable between the two of them. “You’re just loving this, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah,” Nolan snickered and she leaned down to press a loving kiss against Nolan’s temple. “One day we will have to get Lucy and dad in here with us. Then we can all just spend time together for a while.”

“I think we may need a bigger bed for that,” Negan grunted with a small smile as he squeezed his arms around Nolan.

“Can I ask you both a few questions?” Nolan’s big hazel eyes looked between Y/N and Negan.

“Go for it,” Y/N shrugged her shoulders knowing that they had to get up and moving, but she knew that Nolan was happy so she wasn’t going to push it immediately.

“How did you guys meet?” Nolan blurt out and Negan’s face turned pale when Y/N lifted her eyes to look at Negan. “I know how my other dad met mom. He was her professor or something like that. I guess he was her favorite writer so she took his class even though it really didn’t go with her degree.”

“Do you know what that means?” Negan snorted, his eyes narrowing when Nolan lifted his head to look at him. 

“Kinda,” Nolan answered with a sigh before cuddling in closer between his mother and father. “But you guys really loved each other, right? I never really heard the story about the two of you and your start. I just heard a lot of stories about how much mom missed you and loved you, but that’s it. Dad was the one who would tell me the exciting stories. The ones about how you were a hero.”

“A hero?” Negan repeated Nolan’s words and he felt suddenly guilty at the idea that Nolan thought he was a hero. “Your dad said that?”

“Yeah, he told me about the time the two of you were together and there was a car accident,” Nolan recalled one of the stories Joel told him. “You ran out to save someone who had been hit. You stopped the woman from dying in an explosion.”

“I think most people would have done that buddy,” Negan sighed knowing that the last thing he thought he was at this point was a hero. “Your other dad is the real hero. I don’t know if I deserve to be called that word.”

“I think that both of his fathers are heroes,” Y/N corrected Negan, reaching with her free hand to trace over her son’s young features. Instead of letting Negan worry about the past she had learned from him, she decided to change the subject back to what Nolan had asked. “Negan, why don’t you tell Nolan how the two of us met.”

“Yeah dad. How?” Nolan lifted his head and looked up at Negan, putting Negan on the spot. Negan swallowed down hard and his Adam’s apple bounced in his throat while he thought about what he should have said.

“Oh boy,” Negan grunted knowing that he was Y/N’s father’s best friend and had known Y/N most of her life. That honestly sounded ridiculously too creepy to tell his son and that’s obviously why Y/N was making him tell the story. “Well…I was really close friends with your mother’s family.”

“So, was it love at first sight?” Nolan blurt out making Negan cough again. Negan had been best friend’s with Y/N’s father since they were kids. So, for Negan to be in love with Y/N at first sight…that would have been entirely too creepy.

“Your mother and I have a bit of an age difference between us Nolan,” Negan answered with a nervous sound and Y/N was smirking at the way that Negan was trying to dig himself out of the situation. It almost looked like Negan was sweating because he didn’t know how to answer the question his son asked him without sounding kind of like a creep.

“Yeah? And? Aren’t you the same age as my other dad?” Nolan wasn’t catching onto why things were so awkward between them. “How about when you fell in love. Tell me about that?”

“You know, it’s very complicated,” Negan became uncomfortable thinking about his history with Y/N knowing that their relationship started off very much as a sexual thing and that’s not really a story he wanted to tell his son. “Daddy knew he was in love with your mother from the first time she kissed him. I was kind of a jerk when I was younger and your mother saved me.”

“Who loved who first?” Nolan looked between his parents and Negan’s eyes connected with Y/N’s when he didn’t know how to answer.

“I think your father and I loved each other pretty equally,” Y/N answered for Negan and she reached out to brush her fingers through her son’s hair. It actually made Negan feel bad thinking about the past that they had together. There was no doubt he would have said that Y/N loved him first and more. He could never truly give all of his heart to Y/N when they were first together since he had a wife that he loved as well.

“Do you know that Mr. Teddy here was actually the first gift I ever gave your mother?” Negan looked to the stuffed animal that was laying between him and Nolan. Nolan’s eyes shifted to look down at the bear and a big smile spread throughout Nolan’s young features. “I was at a baseball game with your mother and I bought it for her.”

“I knew you had something to do with him,” Nolan answered with a proud sound, squeezing his hand tighter around his mother’s hand. “The huge bear I let Lucy sleep with, I know you had something to do with him too. That big bear kept me safe when I was younger. Lucy was starting to have nightmares too, so I gave it to her for him to protect her. You’ve always been keeping us safe.”

“Wait…” Negan’s face scrunched up and he lifted his head to stare out at Y/N. “You still have the giant bear I gave you too?”

“Yes, we do,” Y/N’s eyes were hooked on Negan’s and a small smile cracked in over her lips. “Nolan was very proud of himself when he let his little sister lay with it.”

“I named him Baxter Bear when I was little,” Nolan explained with a shrug of his shoulders. “When did you give that to mom?”

“I gave it to her for her birthday,” Negan answered with a loud gulp knowing that when he had given it to Y/N originally, he knew that she wasn’t happy with him. To know that she even kept that bear the whole time was exceedingly special. “I’m so glad she gave it to you though.”

“Me too, it helped me through a lot of scary nights,” Nolan huffed and cuddled in closer to Negan. Taking notice of the way Negan and Y/N were looking at each other, Nolan chuckled at his parents and could see that he broke Negan’s stare. “What?”

“Nothing, I just…I really love your mother,” Negan confessed and he lifted up enough to attempt to meet Y/N in a quick kiss. Negan was just out of reach, but Y/N lifted up enough to meet Negan in a subtle kiss.

“I love you too,” she used her free hand to press it over the side of Negan’s face to draw him closer to her. The kiss was broken by the sound of Nolan letting out a dramatic suffocating sound.

“I’m between the two of you,” Nolan snorted and Negan looked to Nolan laughing. “You were going to kill me.”

“You’re a dork,” Y/N teased, tickling at the sides of Nolan’s body making Nolan burst out in laughter. Together both Y/N and Negan tickled at their son’s stomach hearing Nolan howling out in giggles.

“I give! I give!” Nolan squealed out between the two of them. It was hard for the both of them not to laugh at their son’s reactions. Nolan’s laughter was contagious and Negan couldn’t get enough of it. “That wasn’t fair. That was double team. Not cool. So not cool.”

“I’m sorry, but hey…I want to show you something,” Negan reached for the string he had hanging around his neck to pull it out from underneath the t-shirt that he was wearing. Holding it out, Negan let Nolan take it into his fingers and Nolan eyed over the promise ring that Negan had gotten for himself when he bought one for Y/N as well. “When your mom and I were together before you were born, I got us these…”

Y/N raised her hand to show the ring she had kept as well after all of these years. Nolan looked at the two of them, his eyes surveying the rings closely, “I had them special made for your mother’s birthday. Hers has my initials on it, mine has hers and they both had the date we first kissed. Oh…and when you put them together, they are supposed to create a heart.”

“No shit,” Nolan looked at the inside of Negan’s ring to see the engraving that Negan had told him about there. Looking to Y/N, Nolan surveyed over the ring and then licked at his lips. “Can I see your ring for a minute mom?”

“Sure thing,” she worked to get the ring off knowing that she had it on for a very long time. This was probably the first time she had taken it off in years. Handing it over to Nolan, she watched him put the rings together to see the heart that it made.

“That’s actually kind of cute,” Nolan announced and it made both of them laugh at his response. Carefully Nolan handed them both back the rings and shrugged his shoulders. “You have special things with both dads, huh?”

“Yeah. When your dad gave this to me, I was too young to realize how much I would truly appreciate it,” Y/N responded with a smile while she pushed the ring back over her finger that she kept it on.

“Because you lost him?” Nolan confirmed and she nodded slowly. “Well, it’s okay now because he’s here with us.”

“Yes, he is,” Y/N agreed with a sigh and she squeezed her fingers tightly around Negan’s when Negan hooked his fingers with hers.

“You should ask your mom about the tattoos that we got together,” Negan teased, nuzzling his nose against the back of his son’s neck and he heard Y/N let out a disgusted sound.

“The what?” Nolan chuckled looking to Y/N and she shook her head. “You have a tattoo? I know my other dad has one on his shoulder, but I didn’t know you have a tattoo.”

“Because I was young and stupid when I got it. I was so desperate for your father to like me that I got it,” Y/N informed Nolan with a shake of her head. “Trust me, never do something to impress the person you have a crush on because later in life you won’t like it.”

“Hey, I still like mine,” Negan frowned, getting more comfortable in the bed knowing that they had managed to get more time than Y/N had probably wanted them to get together having this discussion.

“Which one is it?” Nolan caressed his fingers over Negan’s inner arm and Negan pointed to the small moon shaped tattoo on his hand Negan had near his thumb and index finger. Nolan eyed it over for a moment before chuckling. “What is it? It’s strange.”

“Right?” Y/N giggled making Negan roll his eyes and began to tickle at Nolan’s side hearing Nolan burst out in laughter. “I told you it didn’t make any sense.”

“It looks like someone accidentally put it there,” Nolan answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s supposed to be a moon and when I line it up with your mother’s tattoo it is the moon and the stars,” Negan grunted hearing Nolan laughing at how much Negan got flustered while he was talking about the tattoos. “It made sense then.”

“You guys really loved each other, huh?” Nolan looked between Negan and Y/N. Both of them hooked eyes before nodding. “But you love my other dad too, right?”

“I do,” Negan muttered, not exactly sure what to say in response to that. Nolan was young and Negan didn’t know what Nolan knew about those kinds of things. For a child, it may be hard to understand, so he figured he may just have to explain it to his son. “You see Nolan, sometimes men love other men while also loving women and…”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that talk with me,” Nolan threw his hands up in the air and made a dramatic expression. “My other dad talked to me about that a long time ago. We have a few people here that are married that are two women and two men. I understand. I just think it’s super cool that I have two dads and a mom that all love each other.”

“You do?” Negan was relieved that he didn’t have to go through that discussion with Nolan. While it would have put him in the right step toward doing fatherly discussions, Negan was glad that Joel already touched base on that one.

“My other dad taught me I should treat everyone else with respect and people love who they love,” Nolan repeated the words that Joel had said to him in the past. There was a proud smile that pressed in over Nolan’s face. “I don’t judge people based on shape, size…anything like that.”

“You’re a special little man, you know that?” Negan brushed his fingers through Nolan’s hair again, messing it up. “I don’t know if many kids would be okay with having two dads.”

“Yeah. I mean some of the other kids here don’t really get it, but I don’t care,” Nolan stretched out his body, clearly waking up in his father’s arms while they talked. “Some people aren’t even lucky enough to have a father. I have two. And I have a mom! I think it’s awesome.”

“It is pretty awesome,” Negan agreed with Nolan and cuddled in closer to both Nolan and Y/N. “You’re pretty awesome.”

“I know,” Nolan boasted and he heard his mother laugh in response.

“And that is where he is definitely your son,” Y/N stated with a laugh, tickling her fingers over the center of Nolan’s stomach. “He has such manners, but then he makes comments like that…”

“Well we can’t help it. We are pretty awesome,” Nolan attempted to grab Y/N’s hand to get her to stop tickling him. When she finally stopped, he had tears at the corners of his eyes from giggling so hard. “I guess we should get up so I can help finish cooking breakfast with dad. Thanks for letting us have time together mom.”

“I think we all needed this,” Y/N kissed the top of Nolan’s head and slowly pulled herself up from the bed. Negan gave Nolan one final big hug before Nolan hopped out of bed after Y/N. “Why don’t you go help your other dad finish breakfast? I’ll be right down.”

“Sounds good,” Nolan gave Y/N a hug and Y/N watched Negan slowly getting up in bed. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stretched out his back. When Nolan left, Negan got up from the bed and opened the drawers of clothes they had gotten for him that they thought would fit him.

“All these clothes will make me look like a soccer dad,” Negan looked over his shoulder at Y/N while he gathered some things and dropped them at his side when he turned to her. Setting his clothes on the edge of the bed, Negan reached out to hook his arms around her waist loosely to pull her to him. Y/N wrapped her arms around Negan’s neck and tipped up on her toes to meet him in a drawn out, lingering kiss.

“Well newsflash Negan, you are a dad now and your son does like to play soccer,” she reminded him, breathing against his lips and he cracked a smile. “So, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that you’re a father.”

“Oh, I’ve come to terms with it, but I don’t have to dress like one,” he slid his palm down to pinch at her bottom making her yelp. The way she smacked over his chest made him chuckle a deep throaty sound. “You know…life almost feels…real here.”

“It is real. That’s why,” she pointed out, sliding her palm up over the side of his neck and over his face. Her thumb traced over his dimple and he leaned into her touch.

“No, I mean…here it doesn’t feel like we’re living in an a world where outside the walls of this town there are things out there that are eager to eat me alive,” Negan rambled and he found himself cherishing the warmth of her against him. “Here I feel like I’m living in the past. The way things used to be.”

“That’s what we try to achieve here,” Y/N reminded him and Negan sighed. “We want to keep the real world alive as much as we can. One day the world may rebuild itself and we’re just getting started here in our own little town.”

“God you’re beautiful,” Negan blurt out, changing the subject while he stared down at her. “Why don’t you take a shower with me?”

“I already had a shower,” she pressed her hand in over the center of his chest to place a distance between them. Reaching for his hand, she tugged him toward the door and Negan managed to grab his clothes before being pulled from the room. When they made it to the bathroom, he watched her move over toward the counter to rest her back against it. “You really do like it here?”

“What’s not to like? I have coffee every day. I get multiple meals a day and I get to be with my family. What else could I ask for?” Negan slowly slid his hands down her arms while her eyes were hooked on his. When his hands reached hers, he linked his fingers with hers and a wicked smile pressed in over his handsome features. “I also get to have incredible sex with two ridiculously good-looking people.”

“You were making me swoon with the whole getting to be with your family part, but you had to turn that statement into a Negan statement by adding the sex part,” she rolled her eyes and heard him snicker when she did it. “You’re still Negan, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, you have to admit the sex has been amazing,” Negan lowered his head in an attempt to kiss over Y/N’s neck. When his rough lips collided with the side of her neck, it made her shudder and he laughed against her flesh. “In fact, I think before I go to work you should give me something to inspire me for the day.”

“We don’t really have the time for that Negan,” Y/N corrected him with a hesitant laugh when she felt his hand snaking around her body to palm over her bottom. The forcefulness of his tug made her fall against him and she gasped. “We have to eat breakfast and then we have to go to work.”

“It will just be fast,” Negan squeezed at the fullness of her bottom making a whimper escape her throat. “Come on?”

“Negan, no…” she shook her head and pressed her hands in over his chest to put a distance between them. The frown he gave her made her snort with how pathetic it looked and she lowered her head against his collarbone. “Your son is going to be expecting me to come down and help with breakfast. You have an excuse for a shower, I don’t. I tell you what. Get through work and when you get home, I’ll give you something as a reward.”

“Well that’s just going to leave me aching all day,” Negan frowned and she tipped up on her toes to press a loving kiss over his lips making him growl out.

“You do have time in the shower,” she reminded him with a teasing laugh which made him roll his eyes afterwards.

“I’ve been sleeping with my right hand for the last decade,” Negan pointed out with a groan and she teased her palm down his chest toward his mid-abdomen.

“As of the last few weeks…no you haven’t,” she winked, tipping up on her toes to meet him in a desperate kiss and Negan groaned into her mouth. “As you said, you’re getting to have sex…plenty of times with two ridiculously good-looking people.”

“Using my own words against me. I see how it is,” Negan chuckled and pressed one final kiss against her lips before she was able to sneak away.

Getting in a shower, Negan decided to try and keep his hands to himself. Breakfast was almost ready and he was at the stage where he would rather eat than jerk off. Coffee and food tempted him so much more. Negan didn’t know if it was because of his age or if it was because of the fact he didn’t eat a decent meal for so long before getting here, but he was desperate to have those meals every morning. Then again, it was probably getting to spend time with his family that he loved so much.

After getting dressed, Negan took a look at himself in the mirror and let out a grunt at the sight of him. It wasn’t exactly the outfit he would have picked for himself before he was here, but Negan knew he would have to get used to it. His leather jacket would just have to be for when he wasn’t having to do other things for the community.

Walking downstairs, Negan was greeted at the bottom step by Ghost who was excited to see him. Dropping down to sit on the bottom step, Negan took his time taking the chance to pet the dog. Negan couldn’t believe how good Ghost had turned out being. For a twelve-year-old dog, Ghost looked incredible. Yeah, he just stayed inside the farmhouse most of the time hanging out or just walking around the farm, but he was an incredible dog.

“Let’s go see what we have for breakfast. What do you say?” Negan pat his thighs and Ghost let out an excited sound following Negan toward the kitchen. Pushing open the door, Negan saw Lucy and Nolan sitting at the table together. Joel was cooking and Y/N wasn’t in the kitchen. “Good morning Professor Handsome.”

“Morning Negan,” Joel’s thick Texan accent filled the air when he looked over his shoulder at Negan with a smirk. “How are you this morning?”

“Much better now that I’ve seen you,” Negan whispered in Joel’s ear when he stepped in beside Joel to press a quick kiss over Joel’s cheek. A yelp fell from Joel’s throat when he felt Negan pinching his butt and he swatted at Negan. “Where is your wife?”

“She is grabbing something. She’ll be right back,” Joel answered, turning his head to look at Negan who was eying over the food. “Help me hand out the plates.”

“Yes sir,” Negan accepted the first plate and moved over to Lucy who looked up at him with her big bright green-hazel eyes. “Good morning Sunshine.”

“Thank you, Negan,” Lucy thanked Negan when he placed her plate in front of her and set up her silverware for her. Negan kneeled down to be level with Lucy and he reached out to brush her dark hair out of her face.

“How are you doing today sweetheart?” Negan smiled holding his hand up in the air to high five Lucy who excitedly high fived Negan back. Making a wincing sound, Negan waved his hand acting like she was entirely too strong for him and it always made her laugh. “You are way too strong. Where are you hiding all that power? So strong for such a little girl.”

“You’re funny,” Lucy snickered before reaching for something from her plate to give to Ghost who was diligently sitting at the other side of her.

Negan reached out to squeeze his hand over her shoulder in a playful manner. When Negan stood up slowly, he could see that Joel was watching the way Negan was with Lucy. Joel was leaning against the counters with his arms folded in front of his chest and there was an impressed expression over his face.

“What?” Negan questioned with a half-laugh and Joel shrugged his shoulders. Joel reached up to brush his own hair out of his face. “I’m just talking to your daughter.”

“You’re just cute,” Joel answered and reached out to softly grab at the center of the Henley shirt that Negan was wearing. Negan let out a hesitant sound before Joel gave Negan a quick kiss and Negan placed his hand in over the center of Joel’s chest.

“The kids,” Negan swallowed down not knowing if they would be able to understand seeing their mother or father kissing Negan in front of them. He knew that Nolan was okay with him kissing Y/N, but Negan just wanted to make sure that they were okay with all of this.

“Mom and dad kiss all the time,” Nolan blurt out from where he was seated petting Ghost. Nolan looked up at Negan with his hazel eyes and shrugged. “Kissing someone you love makes sense.”

“We sat them down and explained things,” Joel informed Negan and reached up to tap at Negan’s face. “We don’t lie to our kids. They know you’re part of our marriage.”

“Which I never asked…are you both okay with me calling you dad?” Nolan inquired looking up to see Negan glance to Joel, looking for permission from him. “I mean when I’m with one of you, I just say my other dad, but it’s okay I call you both dad, right?”

“Of course it is buddy,” Joel pat Nolan on the shoulder and moved over to put together the next plate of food for Nolan.

“What am I supposed to call Negan?” Lucy questioned, picking at her food when Joel looked to Negan. “Am I supposed to call him dad too?”

“That’s up to you sweetheart,” Joel shrugged his shoulders when he carried the plate he had gotten ready to Nolan. “Negan is going to be with us for a long time so if you want to eventually call him dad, that’s okay.”

“Hmmm…okay,” Lucy grinned and scooped some of her food into her mouth.

“You’d be okay with that?” Negan spoke quietly and Joel shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t…I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable in your home with your daughter Joel.”

“Why would it make me uncomfortable?” Joel reached for one of the pieces of potatoes he cooked and plopped it into his own mouth.

“Well, she’s yours,” Negan reminded Joel and Joel made a dramatic head movement.

“And Nolan is yours,” Joel threw his hand up in the air still finding it hard to understand why Negan would be worried with it. “Point is, you’re going to be here to help raise her too. You’ve already done that in the last few weeks. We’re a family. If my daughter wants to call you dad, I’m okay with it.”

“I don’t know if I deserve the title in general yet,” Negan frowned, lowering his head and he heard Joel let out a longer sigh.

“Negan,” Lucy called out and Negan looked over his shoulder.

“Yes Sunshine?”

“I think you make a great dad,” Lucy alerted him with a crooked smile, “You have made Nolan really happy. So happy. That’s a good daddy.”

“Well thank you sweetheart,” Negan gave her a wink and it made her smile at him before going back to eating her food. Nolan stood up and moved out to wrap his arms around Negan’s waist to hug him tightly. “You guys are doing a great job at making me feel at home here.”

“You are home Negan,” Joel confirmed what Negan said. While Nolan hugged Negan, Joel got a plate ready for Negan and urged him to sit at the table with the kids. When Y/N returned to the kitchen Joel was finishing getting their plates together and both kids were playing with Negan. The laughs and giggles they had while Negan was attempting to catch a raspberry in his mouth by throwing it in the air made Y/N immediately smile.

“They’re having fun,” Y/N moved over to Joel and slid her arms around Joel’s waist to hug him from behind. The giggles got louder and Y/N looked to see Nolan attempt to throw a raspberry up to catch in his mouth, but it ended up hitting Nolan in the center of the head. “I think he’s been good for the kids. The amount of laughter I’ve heard in the last few weeks has been like music to my ears.”

“I couldn’t agree more baby,” Joel claimed while Y/N pressed a quick, loving kiss over the side of his neck and then joined their family at the table.

It was a quick breakfast since it was a late start to the morning, but before long Negan found himself walking to his new job with Joel. They were having Negan attempt to work at the hydroelectric powerplant just out of town and Joel had to go there in the morning so Joel was walking with him there.

“You know, I’m really good with farming,” Negan suggested, rubbing his hands together while he walked side by side with Joel. “At the last place I was at they had me doing the laundry and the farming. I think I would be a little better at that than working at this place Joel.”

“Let’s see how this job goes. They need some stronger people to help them and requested they have you there for a few weeks,” Joel informed Negan and he could see Negan make a frustrated face. “I know you’re uncomfortable in Arcadia Negan. It’s hard to be around people you don’t know. I get it.”

“Yeah and when you had the town meeting about me it was fucking awkward as shit,” Negan grunted thinking about when Y/N and Joel had gathered the town to introduce Negan to the people there. Some people already knew of him and others were confused about why he was there. A lot of people were actually questionable about him personally living with Y/N and Joel. Oddly enough, Joel and Y/N weren’t at all worried about hiding their relationship with Negan. They were very open about it and with Joel that surprised Negan the most. “Which where the hell did you get the name Arcadia for this place?”

“What makes you think I named the town?” Joel’s face scrunched up and Negan gave Joel a glare, “What?”

“Arcadia? It sounds like something I would have read from one of your books,” Negan insisted, throwing his hands up in the air while they walked the path the people from Arcadia had created to get to the plant. “I don’t have to question if the fucking writer came up with it.”

“I see,” Joel smirked and lowered his eyes to look at his feet while he walked making Negan laugh.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“You are,” Joel responded and Negan clapped his hands together, proud of himself for figuring that one out. “Arcadia represents something innocent, simple, untroubled…a life where we can be together. You know? Like a paradise.”

“How very author like of you,” Negan teasingly mocked Joel and felt Joel nudge him with his shoulder. “Tell me Joel, are you still writing?”

“I mean at night sometimes. I take out a typewriter and just…I don’t know, let things flow,” Joel’s southern accent seemed to get thicker and Negan looked over at him with an arched eyebrow. “It’s so strange to be remembered for the stories you wrote before all of this happened.”

“Do you have more of the stories you wrote in that big ass library of yours?” Negan wondered, shoving his hands into his pockets while they continued the path to the hydroelectric powerplant. “I only got to read a few of them while I was locked up, but what I did read…I really liked.”

“You don’t want to waste your time on my stories Negan,” Joel snorted, his face wrinkling when he thought about the books that he had written before the walkers started showing up.

“It’s not wasting my time Joel. For the last decade the only thing I’ve had in my life were the books that I’ve read,” Negan informed Joel, clearing his throat when he thought about all the reading he did while he was in the cell. “At the place I was staying, I had a few of your books that they gave me. In a strange way, it was like…having you with me. I read them so many times because those characters…those stories …that shit was part of you. It felt like when I was reading them, you were there with me. I found comfort in your stories because it meant I didn’t have to let go of you.”

“Well shit,” Joel immediately stopped walking after hearing Negan say that and Negan stopped as well to look over at Joel. “Why do you always say things that make me love you more?”

“Well, I am pretty fucking lovable,” Negan snorted and he let out a surprised sound when Joel moved forward and hooked his fingers around the back of Negan’s neck. Negan met Joel in a fervent kiss while the shorter man hooked his fingers tightly into Negan’s hair. When Joel pulled his mouth from Negan’s, Negan nudged his nose against Joel’s and sighed. “So yes, I desperately want to spend my time reading your stories. I have the real thing in my arms right now, but…what can I fucking say? I’m hooked on your writing.”

“I told you that you are welcome to take anything that is in that library Negan,” Joel traced his thumb over Negan’s bottom lip and his eyes were hooked on Negan’s. “I’m so glad you’re here Negan. I really am.”

“Me too,” Negan reached out to brush Joel’s hair out his eyes and Negan’s nose wrinkled. “I’m so fucking impressed with the man you became. The big man in charge…”

“Don’t let my position here blind you Negan. Y/N is the one in charge, I just follow orders and people follow me,” Joel winked, licking his lips before urging Negan to continue back on the path with him. “She really has been the one keeping us safe here. I’m just the muscle, but then again…she is too.”

“Yeah, you guys are such fucking bad asses,” Negan thought back to how they had found him in the past. “When do I get to join your badass group? The one with the hoods and the bandanas? How do I get to go out on a run with you guys?”

“That will be a while. It’s going to take some time before they trust you to come along with us,” Joel spoke up in a sigh knowing that Negan was enthusiastic about taking part in some of the things with the community that they just weren’t ready for yet. “We have like very specific rules about going out and I think the people want to get to know you first before they trust the town’s secrets with you.”

“You know I would never do anything to ruin things for this place. It’s the best thing I could have ever hoped to stumble upon,” Negan looked over at Joel and Joel nodded. “I swear.”

“Negan, I trust you with my life. I do,” Joel pointed out, nudging Negan with his muscular shoulder. “We just had trouble in the past with things and people are cautious. They don’t know you like I do. They don’t know you like Y/N does. Within time they will though and I guarantee they will want you fighting for us too.”

“Fuck yeah,” Negan gave a wink knowing that he couldn’t really push the subject any further than he had. There was some silence between them until they got in the distance of the building they were obviously headed. A surprised sound fell from Negan’s throat when he saw it. How had he always missed something like this? “Whoa.”

“It’s pretty cool, right?” Joel motioned Negan to follow him toward the main building. “It took some time to get used to, but it’s amazing how this place keeps our small town running.”

“I’m surprised you’ve been able to hide this from the outside world,” Negan grunted knowing that in the past he would have likely come for a group like this to get the power they had. That actually made him feel bad that the man he used to be would have certainly tried to overtake the community that Joel had now. “This is a big deal.”

“We’ve had to put up some good fights Negan. We’re not just here because no one has found us,” Joel bit down on his bottom lip and his eyebrows clenched together. “You always have to be ready to fight in this world. We do our best to keep as much of the real world before this alive, but even then, people were bad Negan. We do what we have to in order to protect our families.”

“Well, you’re always going to have me to help you,” Negan reached out to pat Joel on the back and he gave Joel a wink. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“I know you will,” Joel gave a firm nod and he stopped before they reached the building. “I would kiss you before work for good luck, but I don’t want to embarrass you.”

Joel reached out to tug at Negan’s jacket, pulling it closer to his chest and Negan smirked.

“It’s so strange hearing you say something like that considering you were the prude one when this started with us,” Negan’s nose wrinkled and he lowered in closer to Joel. Brushing his fingers through Joel’s thick hair, Negan took advantage of the moment and met Joel’s lips in a small kiss. “I won’t ever turn down kisses from a fucking cute, southern gentleman.”

“Let me know when you find one,” Joel snorted and Negan rolled his eyes.

“Enough making out boys. Time to get to work,” a voice erupted through the air making Negan look back over his shoulder. The person moving behind him was a familiar face that Negan had seen around town, but he really didn’t know whether he should be offended or not by the comment.

“Go to hell,” Joel grunted with a laugh and it caused the blonde man to chuckle in response. Joel pulled away from Negan’s grasp and held his hand in the direction of the man. “This here is Roy. When I’m not here, he’s usually the one in charge of things.”

“That’s right. I’m the man you’ll be answering to newbie,” Roy extended his hand out to Negan and Negan lazily accepted the handshake. Eyeing over the man before him, Negan took in Roy’s features seeing that the shaggy, blonde haired man before him seemed to be giving him a stern expression. Roy had a thick nose, a long face and blue eyes that could make even the strongest of people uncomfortable with his stare. After a moment, it was clear that Roy could tell he was making Negan uncomfortable with his stare and he laughed. “I’m just fucking with you Negan. We’re lucky to have you joining us here. We need someone with a bit of muscle to help us move things around. We don’t always have Mr. Muscles over here to help us out.”

“Roy is harmless Negan. Probably one of the best people here, but kind of ridiculously awful with jokes,” Joel moved forward to wrap his arm around Negan’s shoulders. It was obvious that Negan was tense with the interaction he already had with Roy and Joel reached out to pat Negan on the chest. “I’m going to have him show you around so I can get to work. I’ll see you in a few.”

“Bye,” Negan looked over his shoulder to see Joel heading off in another area and Negan gave his attention back to Roy who seemed to still be eyeing him over. “Are you one of the people here that aren’t okay with two men being close?”

“Me? Oh hell no. I’ve known about you for years,” Roy explained, reaching out to squeeze over Negan’s shoulder. “Joel and I are close friends. I’ve known about you since I got here.”

“And when was that?” Negan’s eyebrow arched in curiosity.

“I was the first person they brought here and welcomed into their home. I would go out with Joel looking for the man that was the father to Nolan that they lost,” Roy explained with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ve just heard so much about you since I’ve been here, it’s just strange that you are finally here after so long.”

“You were the first one they brought in?” Negan found himself interested once Roy told him that. That meant that Roy probably knew them better than most people did. Suddenly he was more interested in talking to this guy.

“Yup. I had lost pretty much everything after the first year everything fell to shit. I was alone in a supermarket. I was with a group and all of them had died. I lost my wife; I lost my daughter and I was ready to give up. I asked God to show me a reason to keep going,” Roy swallowed down hard, thinking back to his life before Joel had found him. “I put a gun in my mouth and that’s when Joel showed up. Convinced me not to kill myself. He did this ridiculously long monologue that…truthfully, it gave me hope. He stopped in to get supplies for the baby and he was looking for someone. Apparently, he was looking for you and instead he found me.”

“Fuck. I am so sorry about your wife and your daughter,” Negan apologized, reaching out to supportively grab Roy’s shoulder to give it a firm squeeze. “That’s really hard. I’m glad Joel found you. If there was one thing that man always did for me…it was give me hope.”

“I bet he did a little bit more than give you hope,” Roy elbowed Negan in the ribs playfully, attempting to crack a joke to break the seriousness in the air that surrounded them. Negan rolled his eyes realizing that Roy was attempting to make a sexual joke. “I hate to ask this question because I feel like I’d be a bit of a perv asking…”

“But you’re going to anyways,” Negan’s eyebrow arched up in response making Roy shrug his shoulders in a dramatic fashion. “What’s on your mind?”

“The three of you are…together? Like…together,” Roy confirmed and Negan gave Roy a simple nod. Roy’s steel blue eyes widened and he nodded slowly. “And that works? There is no jealousy there or anything?”

“I think we all pretty much love each other equally. I mean, I’m jealous they got to be together for so long. I wish I had that bond that they did, but I’m not jealous,” Negan was honest with Roy, noticing that Roy was genuinely listening to him when he talked. “I know it’s not conventional, but they both mean a lot to me. I think…I’m pretty sure I love them equally. Obviously, in different ways, but I love them both.”

“That’s nice. I’ve never seen that kind of relationship work, so just to hear that you all love each other really…” Roy reached up to place his hand over his heart and he let out a proud sound. “I’m a big romance guy. Love makes me happy as stupid as that sounds.”

“Looking at you, I would have never guessed that,” Negan teased with a snort and Roy shrugged his shoulders. “What about you? Did you find someone to make you happy? Did you find love again?”

“Martha. My wife. Yeah. She’s pretty amazing,” Roy announced before pointing back toward where they needed to go to look around the place. “We need to get to work, but during lunch if you want, we can talk. I’m sure there are a lot of things you would want to know.”

“Definitely. You’ve been around my family for so long that there are stories I probably want to hear and know,” Negan confessed knowing that he would have much rather hung out with Roy and just exchange stories. It was nice knowing there would be a person that he could get along with that seemed to genuinely like both Y/N and Joel. “You’ll probably get sick of me asking you so many questions eventually.”

“Never. Consider me the first friend you’ve made here,” Roy reached out patting Negan on the chest firmly before giving him the tour of the hydroelectric powerplant. Roy attempted to explain things to Negan, but truthfully it went right over Negan’s head. Negan was a fucking gym teacher before everything fell to shit. After that the only thing he did was lead a community, do laundry and work on crops. Negan had no idea what it took to keep the power running in a town. In his mind, Negan didn’t even fucking understand how they managed to get water to get the community the power it had. “Do you have any questions?”

“Uh, like a fuck ton,” Negan answered with a groan, reaching up to drag his hand down the side of his face. “I guess what I’m mostly confused about here is what you need me for. I would never even begin to understand how these machines work.”

“Well, right now what we really just need is people to help us move things or just to be an extra pair of hands,” Roy began to explain and Negan lifted his gaze to see that Joel was talking to someone on the second floor. Joel seemed to be looking at paperwork and while Negan wanted to act like he was listening to Roy, truthfully, his attention was completely on Joel. When he first met Joel, he knew that Joel was good at a lot of things, but Negan would have never pegged Joel to be the type of guy that would be able to run a community and make it work as well as he had. Gradually, Negan gave his attention back to Roy hoping that Roy didn’t say too much that he had to pay attention to. “What you’ll be doing is helping to move things. Because we work with water, some things get rusty and we have to change them. That’s where you come in. Then if people need a set of hands, they will ask you for help. Eventually, if you like working here, I’m sure someone can teach you how to be an operator and you can have a permanent job here with us.”

“Baby steps,” Negan grunted, his eyes narrowing when Roy waved Negan to follow him. Taking another look up at the second floor, Negan watched Joel’s eyes meet his and Negan waved. A bright smile pressed in over Joel’s features and he gave Negan a wink. Following Roy into one of the rooms, Negan saw a few of the workers surrounding a table. Roy reached for a pair of work gloves and a hard hat for Negan to wear. “Oh, this will be fun.”

“These will help too,” Roy reached for a pair of goggles and heard Negan groan while he held the stuff Roy gave him in his hands. “Let’s introduce you to a few people you will be working with. This here is Bill.”

“Hey, I’m Negan,” Negan reached his hand out attempting to be friendly seeing the man’s nose wrinkle. Bill grunted when he stood up from the table he was sitting at and stood before Negan. Bill was taller than Negan and it was clear that he was attempting to use his height to intimidate Negan, but it wasn’t working. The man’s cold blue eyes were staring into Negan’s and this felt immediately uncomfortable. When Bill didn’t shake Negan’s hand, Negan shrugged and pulled his hand away. “Or not.”

“We know who you are. You being here made quite the commotion,” Bill grumbled under his breath, pulling the trucker hat he was wearing from his head to brush his fingers through his dark brown hair. “We all are very aware of who you are.”

“Well he was pleasant,” Negan snorted when Bill walked away and pushed through Negan making Negan stumble back. “Any other gigantic assholes that I will be working with that you want to tell me about?”

“I’d say he’s the biggest one,” a feminine voice called out to Negan and he turned his gaze to a woman that stood up slowly from the table. She pulled her dark hair into a ponytail before stepping in closer to Negan and Roy. “Other than that, people pretty much stick to themselves. We work and just look forward to getting back home to our families.”

“Negan, this is Faith,” Roy waved his hand in the air as she stepped before Negan and held her hand out to introduce herself. Faith’s crystal blue eyes were hooked on Negan’s when he accepted her hand. “She’s one of the hardest workers we have here. I’m sure if you need help, she won’t be afraid of helping you out.”

“That is quite a grip you got there Negan,” Faith looked down at Negan’s hand noticing that he was staring at her and she looked down to see that Negan was still shaking her hand. Swiftly, Negan pulled his hand away and she smirked. “You’ll get used to Bill. He’s just pissed because no one really likes him here. They just put up with him.”

“I think this whole place is going to take some getting used to,” Negan snorted and felt Roy tugging at his arm to get him away from the room. “It was nice to meet you.”

“See you around,” Faith gave Negan a wink and when Roy pulled him out of the room, Negan let out a confused sound.

“How is someone like that working here?” Negan took notice of the slender woman that was still watching him as he walked away. “Most people I’ve seen working here are men or woman on the upper level that are clearly the brains of group.”

“Faith isn’t like most women, but you need to be careful with that one,” Roy pat Negan on the chest making Negan let out a tense breath. “She likes the new guys.”

“Come again?” Negan chuckled and Roy shrugged his shoulders. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying she’s very…welcoming when new people come to Arcadia,” Roy could see that Negan was still expecting Roy to elaborate and Roy threw his hands up. “I mean she pretty much sleeps with everyone.”

“Oh, that’s what you mean,” Negan chuckled, looking back over his shoulder at Faith and he shrugged his shoulders. “She’s pretty, but I’ve got it all when it comes to Joel and Y/N.”

“Good man,” Roy pat Negan on the abdomen and he urged Negan to follow him to the team he would be working with.

Doing what he was told, Negan worked through most of the day trying to keep his head down. Even though this was completely against everything he was used to, he was trying his best to fit in with the rest of the town for Y/N and Joel. They wanted him happy and wanted him to be able to stay with no problems, so he worked his hardest. He hated it and it wasn’t at all what he was used to, but he was attempting to do his best work.

When it was time for lunch, Negan moved for the lunchroom until he heard someone calling out his name. When he noticed it was Bill, Negan groaned inwardly, but moved up to the man that had been kind of a prick to him earlier in the day.

“I need you to hold this for me,” Bill instructed handing Negan over a hose. Without question, Negan did what he was asked. “We’re going to connect it to that pipe…”

“This pipe?” Negan nodded over toward the pipe that was right in front of his face. “I’m not sure how you expect to fit this over the…”

Before Negan could finish his sentence, Bill hit a button that caused the pipe that was before Negan to flood water into Negan’s face making him drop the hose at his feet. Coughing immediately, Negan heard the laughter from Bill flooding through the air and Bill immediately turned off the waterflow that he had clearly done on purpose to fuck with Negan.

“Shit man, I hit the wrong button,” Bill snorted and Negan’s glare lifted from the floor, his angered hazel eyes hooked on the taller man. “Don’t get pissy, it was a fucking accident.”

“Come on dimples, he’s not worth it,” Negan looked beyond Bill to see that Faith was in the lunchroom that was just beyond where he was and had spotted what happened. When Faith moved in beside Negan, she nudged him toward the lunchroom and gave Bill a glare. “That was fucked up Bill. You don’t have to be such a fucking asshole.”

Negan followed Faith into the lunchroom and dropped down into his seat. In the past, Negan would have ripped someone’s throat out for doing something like that. Negan’s heart was pounding inside of his chest and his whole body was tense. Faith moved around the lunchroom finding a towel to hand to Negan so he could attempt to dry himself off.

“You got something to eat?” she opened a bag that she had for herself and Negan shook his head. “I can share some of what I have with you…”

“No need,” Negan heard the familiar southern drawl filling the air and Negan looked over his shoulder to see Joel standing at the entrance to the lunchroom. “I brought you a lunch and forgot to give it to you.”

“Thanks,” Negan accepted the bag that Joel was holding and he stood up from the table. Urging Joel into the corner of the lunchroom, Negan frowned. “Listen, I know they need help, but I just…I don’t think this is a job for me Joel. I’m going to end up punching that motherfucker Bill in the face. He just sprayed me in the fucking face and…I would just be so much better working with the crops. Doing farming and shit. Or if people want me to do laundry, I’m good at that. I’m strong, but I’m not young Joel…”

“Hey, you won’t be here long. I promise,” Joel hushed, reaching out to wrap his fingers around the back of Negan’s neck to stroke over Negan’s flesh in a tender caress. “I’ll look for something better for you. Just put up with it for now until I find something else. Bill is just a fucking asshole. He hates me so he’s probably out to take his anger out on you. You poor thing.”

“Joel,” Negan sighed while Joel used the towel that Faith had given him to brush it through Negan’s thick hair. “Okay. Thank you for the lunch.”

“It’s no problem. I have to leave, but after work just come back to the house, okay? I have a few errands I have to run before dinner, but I promise you everything is going to be okay,” Joel gave Negan a wink and Negan grabbed a firm hold of Joel’s hand giving it a firm squeeze.

When Joel left, Negan could see that Faith was staring at him and he shrugged his shoulders, “What?”

“I would have never pegged Joel to be gay. Or you for that matter,” Faith grunted to herself, biting firmly into the apple that she had. “But you both are a cute couple.”

“I’m not gay. I’m bisexual and so is Joel. We both love Y/N and the three of us are…together,” Negan informed her with a heavy sigh, sitting back down in his seat to pull out the food that Joel had given him. Seeing that Joel had packed popcorn for him made him snicker and he started to toss back handful after handful of it.

“But they are married,” Faith pointed out and Negan nodded slowly. “And you’re okay with being the third wheel?”

“That’s not really how I view it,” Negan answered with a heavy sigh. “We’re a family. Nolan is my son and Joel helped raise him. Lucy is Joel’s daughter and I’m going to help raise her. We make it work.”

“For how long?” Faith stammered and Negan gave her a frustrated look. “I mean that sounds nice, but that kind of relationship never works.”

“You don’t have to understand our relationship. No one asked you to anyways,” Negan snapped, his right eyebrow arching up when he spoke. “I’m happy and that’s all that matters.”

“And how does sex work with that?” Faith bluntly asked making Negan chuckle and his eyebrows perked up when she spoke. “Do you just share Y/N?”

“We all share each other,” Negan answered with a bright smile, reaching for another handful of popcorn. “I’m sorry if that ruins your image of me, but…uhm…we’re all with each other.”

“Interesting,” Faith took another big bite of her apple before shaking her head and laughing. “If it feels good, I say do it. Just never pictured Joel and Y/N to be…kind of kinky and I like it. I should have realized it a lot sooner I guess.”

“Mmm…you’ve got no idea,” Negan reached inside to grab another item to quickly scoff it down. “Well, it was nice getting to chat with you, but I’m going to head back to work.”

Negan wanted to potentially get his work done before the end of the day. So, he decided to work through his lunch and at the end of the day he was so sore that the walk back to Arcadia was harder than he thought it would be. How someone did that kind of physical work every single day blew his mind. When he returned to the house, it was almost sundown and he was searching for someone. The house seemed pretty empty until he found the office that Joel and Y/N had taken him to the first day he arrived with the door partially opened.

“Hello?” Negan knocked on the door and pushed it open further to see Joel sitting on the floor of the office. Moving into the room, Negan closed the door behind him and let out a tight groan. Noticing the way Joel was sitting, Negan gave him a strange expression and could see that Joel kept his eyes closed. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m meditating,” Joel answered, continuing to keep his eyes closed. Negan took notice of the way Joel was breathing and Negan hesitantly laughed. Negan had seen things like this in the movies when he watched them, but never really saw someone do it in person. “You’re welcome to join me while I do it.”

“Really?” Negan thought about it for a long moment before shrugging his shoulders. Lowering down to the ground, he got into the position that Joel was in. “Like this?”

“Straighten your back,” Joel opened his eyes long enough to look at what Negan was doing. Joel reached out to help Negan into position and he smirked with how tense Negan was. “This is about being loose and relaxed Negan. Relax your body, steady your breathing and close your eyes. Listen to me breathing and attempt to follow suit.”

Negan watched Joel return to position and when Joel closed his eyes, Negan did the same, but he just ended up feeling awkward doing it.

“What does this really do to help you?” Negan’s eyes opened and he looked over at Joel who opened his right eye to look at Negan. “Like, Y/N said that you don’t cum as fast because you meditate. How does…this…keep you from blowing your load like a teenager?”

“I meditate toward the end of the day so I can clear my mind of all the negative thoughts I’m feeling. You take a few minutes, be silent and just focus,” Joel answered, his eye closing again while he tried to loosen up and calm himself beside Negan.

“Focus on what?” Negan looked around the room and beside himself at Joel to see Joel’s chest slowly rising and falling. “What do you focus on?”

“For me, it’s my body,” Joel slouched over and opened his eyes to turn his head to look at Negan. “With meditation it’s about sitting down, closing your eyes and just breathing. I focus on my breath and how my body is reacting.”

“Oh…” Negan watched Joel loosen his body again and he shifted beside Joel finding his legs uncomfortable. Joel seemed so comfortable and Negan found himself locking up sitting the same way Joel was. “I’m still having a really hard fucking time understanding how this makes you last longer.”

“Negan,” Joel laughed, throwing his head back. Negan was serious, but still Joel found amusement in his questions. “When you can focus your mind and take control of your body, you could train yourself to do a lot of things. There are tells when you are about to cum, right?”

“Well, obviously,” Negan shrugged his shoulders and Joel reached up to rub at the back of his neck.

“If you pick up on those little things then you can train your mind to focus and keep yourself from losing control,” Joel rambled, waving his hand in the air. “Kind of like when you are in the cold. If you tell yourself that you’re warm and convince yourself that it’s warm, you’re no longer going to shake. With meditation, the better you get at it, the better you can control your body. So, with sex, when you feel that build up happening, you can use your mind to tell yourself…no, not yet.”

“That sounds complicated as shit,” Negan admitted making Joel chuckle at his response.

“Just do what I do. Listen to me breathe. Relax yourself. Clear you mind of everything and eventually you will get used to it. When you can read your body, then you can make it do anything,” Joel assured Negan, reaching out to pat Negan on the knee.

Negan gave it a few minutes, but the more he sat to himself quiet like Joel said he should the more his mind lingered and he wasn’t exactly fond of where it was taking him, “I can’t do this.”

“Hey,” Joel took notice of the fact that Negan was anxious and Joel broke his own meditation to scoot in beside Negan. Joel comforted Negan noticing that he was starting to panic and that was really the last thing that Joel wanted for him. “It takes time. I have a book about meditation you can read if you want. A few actually.”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Negan let out a hesitant breath and he watched Joel pull himself up from the ground to search the books that he had. “Would you be okay with me taking a few of the books in here to read? I promise I’ll put them back.”

“Negan you live here. You can take whatever you want,” Joel pointed his hand toward the books that he had. “I get the feeling that reading might be your meditation. So, go for it big guy. Make yourself happy. Are you okay if I meditate for a little bit longer?”

“I’m just going to be browsing the library you have got going on here,” Negan waved Joel to continue on with what he was doing. Joel went back to where he was and Negan eyed over the books pulling out a few that he liked to join the books that Joel had grabbed for him. Noticing that Joel had a lineup of his own books he wrote there, Negan smiled and looked back over his shoulder at Joel. Grabbing the ones Negan had yet to read, Negan set them aside before reaching for one of them. Opening the book, he opened the front flap and looked at the young photo of Joel inside making him smile. Joel had aged quite a bit since this photo, but it was clearly before Negan had even met Joel himself.

The sound of the door swinging open was heard and Negan looked over his shoulder to see Lucy running into the room, “Daddy!”

“Oof,” Joel grunted when Lucy ran into his arms and knocked Joel back onto the floor. It caused Joel to burst out with laughter, wrapping his arms tightly around Lucy while he held her close to his chest. It made Negan smile and he looked back over his shoulder at Y/N who was standing in the doorway. “I’m so happy to see you too baby girl.”

“Hey you,” Y/N moved into the office, stepping before Negan while Joel played with Lucy. “How was your first day?”

“It kind of sucked,” Negan grunted, letting out a hesitant breath before she tipped up on her toes to meet Negan in a quick kiss and he hummed to himself when she pulled away. “I think I met the town asshole today.”

“Bill?” Y/N immediately seemed to know who Negan was talking about and it made Negan groan. “Yeah, he’s…not fun.”

“No kidding,” Negan snorted, reaching out to wrap his arms loosely around Y/N’s waist. “I don’t know how your husband does it. Puts up with these people. Or how you put up with these people for that matter.”

“Joel is something else,” she looked to the side to see Joel holding Lucy up in the air while making airplane sounds. “I don’t know how he does half of what he does. Yet he comes back and has the energy to be…him.”

“Meditation,” Negan teased making Y/N laugh when he did. The sound of the door opening further was heard and Negan looked to see Nolan at the office door. “Group hug…”

Nolan said nothing, just smiled and moved to the two of them. Negan managed to get Nolan between both him and Y/N before they both squeezed him in their arms. Nolan let out a happy breath making Negan smile at the sound of it.

“Joel!” Negan called out and Joel lifted his head from the floor. “We’re having a group hug.”

“Family hug,” Nolan corrected Negan and Negan nodded. Joel managed to get up from the ground and picked Lucy up in his arms. Making room for Joel they all hugged each other for a moment and Negan realized this was exactly why he would continue to put up with what he had to. This family was the reason to keep fighting and he loved them so much already. “This is awesome.”

“Yes, it is buddy,” Y/N agreed hearing Negan gasp when they pulled away from the hug and Lucy jumped from Joel’s arms into Negan’s.

“Hello Sunshine,” Negan pulled Lucy in closer to his chest while he carried her toward the kitchen when they all headed in that direction to attempt to get some dinner started. “How was your day today?”

Negan listened to Lucy talk about her day and they managed to put together a quick dinner for themselves. It was nice being able to be home with his family, but afterwards Negan had taken a shower in attempts to loosen his body after what it was put through. When he was done, Negan wanted to find Y/N to talk to her about a few things. When he went to Joel and Y/N’s room, he had found Joel in bed reading something alone.

“Where is your wife?” Negan stammered and Joel waved his finger in the air.

“She put the kids to sleep and I think she’s outside on the swinging bench,” Joel answered and Negan moved across the bedroom to give Joel a quick kiss before heading outside.

When Negan made it outside, he could see that Y/N was sitting on the bench like Joel said she would be and he moved in beside her, “Hey there beautiful. You care if I join you?”

“Please…” she pat the bench beside her and sighed when Negan moved in next to her. Negan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she found herself cuddling up against his chest.

“What are you doing out here?” Negan yawned knowing that he was ridiculously tired and in lots of pain from only one day. He could only imagine how he would feel at the end of the week. Even though he should have been sleeping, he wanted to get some time in with Y/N.

“On the nights that the sky is clear I just like to sit here and look at the stars,” Y/N answered truthfully, sighing loudly. “It reminds me of the days when things weren’t so…complicated. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but it makes me think of a time before all of this. When it felt like things were the end of the world, but we were so wrong. Even though it strangely calms me…”

“I can see why,” Negan admitted, admiring the way that the stars shined above them. The moon was bright tonight illuminating the area around the farmhouse. “It’s beautiful out here.”

Negan got caught up in the moment of her cuddling with him. Ghost was with them on the porch and it reminded him of when they were younger and together at their home they shared, “Does it ever remind you of the time I made love to you under the stars?”

“Oh, frequently,” she snickered, caressing her palm over the center of his chest. “You’d be surprised how many things reminded me of you over the last twelve years. I’ve missed you so much.”

“You’re never going to have to worry about losing me again,” Negan promised her and cuddled her in closer to him, finding himself the most peaceful he had been all day with her.

“Good,” she grinned and she let out a shuddering breath. “I did promise you something special after you were done with work…”

Negan watched her adjusting her position to work on opening up the belt in his pants and he chuckled. When she got the material apart, he watched her attempt to push her hand into his pants and he grabbed her wrist, shaking his head when her eyes connected with his.

“While I would love that…eventually,” Negan began with a simple shrug, “I would just really prefer to have you continue to let me hold you in my arms. This is the most relaxed I’ve been today and I’d like to enjoy this with you.”

“I can do that,” she lifted her head to meet him in a kiss and Negan drew it out knowing that he wanted to appreciate the sensation of her lips against his.

“This place is something else,” Negan breathed against her lips while he looked at the area surrounding them. “It’s like something out of one Joel’s books.”

“Welcome to Arcadia Negan,” she whispered feeling Negan resting his head against hers while they sat staring at the stars togethers. “We’re lucky to have you here.”


End file.
